


Depths

by Lunaraven0



Series: Multi-chapter Stuff [2]
Category: Markiplier Egos, Who Killed Markiplier? (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eventual Relationships, M/M, Mermaids are a thing, The title may change, Who Killed Markiplier?, the googles are there cause I said so
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2019-10-15 07:16:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17524250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaraven0/pseuds/Lunaraven0
Summary: Life used to be chill. A long time ago.Now it's...a mess.





	1. Chapter 1

The ocean was beautiful. It's the main reason William joined the Navy. He wanted to be near it always. When he came home, he bought a houseboat so he could stay near it more. Damien and Celine would sometimes come to visit on Damien's official mayor boat. They'd talk for hours about anything and everything.

Nowadays, Wilford didn't have many visitors. Damien and Celine hadn't come back after they'd fallen into the water with the DA. He'd tried to look for them; he dived into the water over and over again, but he only ended up cold.

That had happened years ago. Currently, he was lazing on his most recent boat, staring up at the Pacific afternoon sky. The sun was setting, and there was a gentle breeze blowing.

He was nearly asleep when something bumped into the bottom of his boat. He sat up and looked into the water. "Hm?"

Something was there. It looked kinda like a dolphin but wrong, somehow. It was being chased by a second something.

He watched them for a while. The sun went down and he started to doze off again.

Then something burst out of the water and smacked him in the face. His head cracked against the deck and the world went dark.

~

 ** _Shit shit shit!_** He dived into the floater's den, slamming the panel shut, and curling into a far corner. **_Don't wake up, don't wake up._** He didn't move, watching the panel until he was sure the human wasn't coming in.

His tail throbbed horribly. That _bastard_ had managed to get a cut down the side. **_Humans have fabricky stuff, right? I could use that to stop the bleeding_.** He dug around in the paneled niches for a bit until he found something suitable and wrapped it tight around the wound. It stung like hell, but it worked.

His vision was starting to fade. He had been swimming for hours, and his body had apparently decided to give up. Better it happen here than out in the open. At least it wasn't freezing cold.

~

Wilford awoke to a loud voice politely yelling at him, "Hey!! These are restricted waters!! You need to leave!!"

"Sorry!" He hurried to the public docks as fast as he could. When he got there, he walked into his cabin and looked in the mirror.

There was a long scratch on his cheek. It was probably from the thing that jumped him. He went to get the first aid kit from the cabinet, and stopped.

There was...a merman on the floor. He was asleep, curled up next to the cabinet. He had wrapped a towel around his long tail, which was soaked in blood. His gray skin was too pale, and he wasn't breathing very well. Poor guy had a fever too.

Without taking his eyes off the merman, Wilford called Oliver.

"Wilford! Fuck, what happened now?"

"A merman hopped on my boat. He's hurt, and I think he might've gotten sick from something."

"...if this is a prank, I'm killing you myself."

"Thanks, Oliver. I owe you one." He hung up, and looked the merman over again. "Poor guy. I'll try to move fast."

~

_"William! Slow down!"_

_"Sorry!" He stopped and waited for Damien to catch up, then they kept walking. "I'm just excited."_

_"Yeah. Me too."_

_"Why's Celine not_ _coming?"_

_"She's doing her lessons. Mine were yesterday, so today's a free day."_

_"Oh. I always forget you guys are homeschooled. So, anyway, what do you want to do today?"_

_"Hmmm, how about...ice cream!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_The ice cream was the best Damien ever had. It came from a local shop that had opened recently. They were definitely going to come back. Afterward, they went back home, where Celine had finished her lessons. They went out exploring the woods together, staying out as long as they could. It was..._

_It...?_

He opened his eyes. Those dreams had been getting worse lately. He groggily shook his head and looked around.

He wasn't in the den anymore, or on the floater at all. He was some sort of blue water container. The human had moved him.

Also, he felt like absolute shit, but that might've just been the blood loss. He sat up slowly, looking around the container. It was big enough to stretch out in but too small to swim around a lot. The water felt cold, though he was used to it. There was a white thing wrapped around his tail. It didn't hurt as much anymore, just a dull throb. He peeked up over the edge and looked around. The container was in a big cave thing. There was an opening facing the ocean, where a few humans stood, including the one from the floater. They hadn't seen him awake yet.

He sighed, then curled in on himself as he started coughing, hacking up a lot of mucky green gross stuff. Some more slid out the gills on his neck, which was the fucking _worst_ feeling in the world. He tossed it out on the weird grey ground outside of the container. A headache was starting to form behind his eyes.

**_I hate this_.**

~

"How long is he gonna be in there?" Wilford asked.

"About a week, maybe more. He might be contagious, so we can't let him near the other animals," Oliver said.

"Not much room to move in there."

"If he moves a lot, it could tear the stitches. Besides, he needs rest," Green said.

"Oh." Wilford glanced at the tank. "Do you think he could understand us?"

"Depends. If he was raised near humans, then yes. If he's never met humans, then no. We won't know until he wakes up," Blue said.

"Hmm." Wilford stood up and walked over to the tank. The merman was still asleep, curled up against one wall. His long black hair was floating around his head slightly. It looked like it was moving on its own, which was weird as hell, but also really fucking cool.

The merman moved, stretching his body out and turning over as best he could in the tank, then settled back down. Wilford sighed. "You're probably miserable. Sorry. I'll understand if you hate us."

The merman didn't respond, of course. Wilford didn't mind.

~

_Two hours later..._

Something picked him up. He shrieked in surprise and tried to get out of its grip, but all he got was a faceful of a human's clothes. The human was stronger than he expected. He growled, digging his claws into its sides, but it didn't react. He tried biting them but still got nothing.

Then he was set down onto a big metal thing. He tried to get off, but more humans were there surrounding him. He hissed, clawing at them, desperate to get out-

Then, something soft covered his head, and everything went...still. All of the anxiety and fear and frustration, just, disappeared.

His headache got worse as the rush faded. Another coughing fit overtook him, and he spat out more of the green muck. He could feel one of the humans messing with his tail. They were talking with each other about him. He understood most of it, but some parts didn't make any sense. What the fuck even is a bacteria anyway?

After a while, they stopped. Something wiped over his gills, making them horribly itchy. He heard something open and then shut, and his vision returned. One human was left, standing in front of the only panel out. It was the one from the boat.

It looked familiar, somehow.

"Hey." Its voice was deep, and it talked funny.

He just hissed at it.

"Yeah, you hate me, I get it...but anyway, can you understand us? Like, what we're saying?"

He frowned, then nodded.

"Do you know how to talk?"

He shook his head.

"Okay. I just...I want to apologize for all of this. I never wanted to make you miserable, or anything; you looked really messed up on my boat and I didn't know what else to do. We have to keep you here for a few weeks at least, so your tail can heal properly."

_**Fuuuck**._

  
"Sorry. Is...is there anything I can do to help, anything at all?"

His stomach growled right then. He didn't really feel okay enough to eat something, but he knew he had to.

"Food?"

He nodded.

"Okay. Give me a minute." The human left, leaving him alone in the cold den. There was a faint humming coming from above him; otherwise, it was silent.

The fish the human brought back were dead, and they smelled just a bit wrong. He ate them anyway. It wasn't like he had a choice.

After a while, the human brought him back to the container. The water felt cold again. He paced around the edge for a bit, then settled, curling up.

The human watched him, leaning over the edge with a hand in the water, idly swirling it around. He rolled his eyes and laid his head down on his arms. **_Humans are so weird._**

~

"Do you have a name?" Wilford asked.

The merman looked at him, like _Why?_

"Cause I don't want to keep calling you 'the merman' in my head. It feels weird."

The merman shook his head. _No_.

"Oh...Can I give you one?"

The merman shrugged, as if to say _Whatever_.

"Ok." Wilford thought about it for a moment. "How about...Dark?"

The merman looked at him like _What kind of name is that?_

"What? It suits you."

Dark rolled his eyes. _If you say so._

"You like it. You just don't wanna admit it."

Dark laid his head back down, ignoring Wilford completely now.

~

The next day was less crappy than the first. The humans brought him fish first thing when he woke up. The one that like to talk to him, Wilford, stayed nearby, talking about lots of human nonsense. Dark didn't really have a way of responding, or getting him to shut up, so he listened. Dark only understood a fraction of what he was talking about though.

It was nice. Wilford's voice was oddly calming. He couldn't help but doze off, only to jerk his head up when a coughing fit took hold. Wilford tried to help him when it did, rubbing and patting his back. It felt familiar, how he did it, somehow.

~

Dark fell asleep a while later. Wilford watched him as he did. His gills moved with his chest as he breathed, slowly flapping in the water.

His hair was definitely moving. Wilford had gotten a closer look at it when Dark was out of the tank. It almost looked like lots of tiny octopus arms minus the suckers were growing from his head.

Now, he just stared at it. It was fascinating. And cute, in a way.

Oliver walked over. "What are you doing?"

"Looking at his hair."

"Why...?"

"It's cool. It's kinda like octopus arms, or an anemone."

Oliver crouched down, also looking. "Huh. Weird."

"It makes sense. Normal hair isn't good for swimming."

"Yeah."

Dark stayed asleep for a while longer. Sometimes he'd move in his dream-state, making hand gestures or moving his mouth, like he was talking to someone. Whatever it was, he seemed excited, and happy.

Wilford hadn't had a happy dream in a while. They'd all been about losing people, but he could never remember who they were.

But anyway! Let's not think about that! That...would hurt too much.

~

_You didn't expect to make a friend at university. You didn't expect to graduate with him._

_You definitely didn't expect to be elected as his District Attorney after he became Mayor. When he greeted you on your first day, he was wearing a very crap mayoral sash a child made for him. It said "MAYOR" in shaky handwriting. 'MAYO' was in grey and the 'R' was in red._

_He loved it. You loved it. Everyone loved it. No one dared to argue._

_Damien celebrated your election with a private party, just like when you passed tests in uni. It wasn't as wild as the uni parties though. You both had work to do._

_You were the best Dis_ _trict Attorney that the town ever had, according to Damien. Instead of throwing every criminal in jail, you got them help. Jail never helped anyone. It just made things worse. The crime rate dropped to nothing with you around._

_You didn't think much of it. Until...you got invited to a poker night. It came from one of Damien's childhood friends. Apparently, they'd had a falling out a couple years before uni, and he wanted to make amends._

_You had a bad feeling about it, but you went anyway. Damien seemed ex_ _cited about it, and you'd trust him with your life._

 _You arrived a while after Dam_ _ien. You met another of Damien's old friends, the Colonel. He was odd, but that wasn't a bad thing. It made the night better, even. You wouldn't have traded it for the world, even though you barely remembered the actual party. It was amazing._

 _Then..._ what?

Dark opened his eyes. For a moment, he was still in the dream, surrounded by his friends, new and old. Then, reality hit him again. It...hurt, like an ache in his chest.

Or maybe that was the mucky crap.

He poked his head over the edge of the pool, trying to shove those thoughts out. It was dark in the room, but he could still see fine. He could hear some commotion happening far away, but none of it seemed to be coming to him, so he ducked back down and went back to sleep.

He didn't get much. A loud _BANG_ came from somewhere behind him and suddenly there was lots of yelling. He covered his ears, curling up against the wall. His headache spiked, making his vision dim.

_BANG!_

_CRASH!!_

_"William!! What the hell are you doing!?"_

_"It's just target practice!"_

_"Inside the house?!"_

_"Your mother yelled at me for ruining the peonies!"_

_"And she'll do worse if you keep this up!"_ _Celine examined the cut on William's head. "Goddammit Will. You're going to need stitches now."_

_"I'm fine, Celine! It's just a scratch."_

_"It's not 'just a scratch', you're bleeding everywhere! Come on!" Celine dragged Will out the door. "I'll get you to the doctor."_

_"Ugh, you worry too much."_

Then everything stopped. Something was stroking his hair. "It's okay, it's okay, you're fine Dark."

"Mh?" It was Wilford. Dark was in his lap, clinging to his chest. There was a long cut on his forehead, dripping blood down his cheek. Dark reached up to wipe it off, but Wilford stopped him.

"I'm fine, Dark. It's just a scratch."

He sounded _so_ much like William. It made that reality ache come back. Dark shook his head. "Nh!!" He pulled up Wilford's shirt and rubbed the blood away, pressing down to stop it. It smeared a little. Wilford just laughed.

"Ok, ok, I'll go get bandages."

"You need stitches too."

"Aw, come on Ollie! It's not that deep!"

"I can see bone."

"...oh."

~

Oliver took Wilford to the clinic as quickly as he could. Dark came too, mostly because he had a death grip on Wilford's shirt. He curled around Wilford's torso, watching Oliver work. When it was done, he gently poked at the bandages, like he wanted to check the quality.

"Dark, the bandages are fine. They itch like hell, but they're fine."

Oliver changed the bandages on Dark's tail as well. The wound seemed to be healing fast, which was good.

His phone buzzed.

_Ollie, have you taken care of Wil yet? -Blue_

_Yeah, I took care of Dark too. He's healing faster than we expected. His stitches need to come out soon. -Ollie_

_Noted. Come outside, the roof is worse than we thought. -Blue._

"Wil, how about you head home? You need rest."

"I dunno if I can walk."

"...fair point. I think there's a cot in our charging room, you can sleep there."

"Can I bring it by Dark's tank? I think he wants to stay by me."

"Yeah, just don't sleep _in_ his tank."

"Ok."

~

The roof had been blown down the beach by the storm. Fortunately, it was mostly in one piece, so clean up would be simple.

At least, that's what Blue expected.

It was ridiculously heavy, and embedded in the beach. A few crabs had crawled into the gaps.

It was a mess.

This was gonna take _hours_.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a merman buried in the sand, under the shade of a big piece of roof. It had missed him by only a foot. He looked a lot like Dark, from what Blue could see of him. His hair was slightly shorter. Only his head and shoulders were above the sand. He seemed to be asleep; the gills on his neck slowly moved in the small amount of water pooled in the space.  
  
Green walked over. "What'd you find?"  
  
"A merman."  
  
"What are we, the Mermaid Rescuers?"  
  
"If he's okay, we can just let him go."  
  
"He might've been here a while. He could have heat exhaustion or something."  
  
Blue started digging him out. "We won't know until he wakes up."  
  
It was only when Red removed the roof that the guy woke up. He tried to look up at Blue, but had to cover his eyes with one arm. "Shit, put the shade back, it's too bright."  
  
Blue pulled his shirt off and covered the merman's head with it. "Why are you buried in the beach?"  
  
"I live nearby. Whenever there's a storm, I dig into the beach so I don't get pulled away by the current. When it was over, that thing was covering me and I couldn't leave." He looked at Blue. "You're not freaking out?"  
  
"No. A friend of ours found another merman a couple days ago. He was sick and hurt, so we're taking care of him until he gets better. Speaking of which, how do you feel?"  
  
"Just got a headache. That's it. Also, you're very pretty." He held out a hand. "My name's Bim."  
  
"Uh, Blue." They shook. Blue pulled him out of the hole. His tail was a dark purple color, with frilly fins down the back. He carried Bim to the water, setting him down.  
  
"I think I've seen you around before, at the new aquarium thing."  
  
"Y-yeah. My brothers and I run the place."  
  
"Cool. Maybe I'll come visit sometime." Bim disappeared into the waves. Blue watched him go, a weird feeling blooming in his chest.  
  
Green walked over to him. "You like him, don't you?"  
  
"...maybe?"  
  
"People always said humanity would be your weakness, but it turns out, its cute mermen."  
  
~  
  
Bim didn't even realize he'd stolen Blue's shirt until he was home in his cave. By then, he was hungry and didn't want to go all the way back. He grabbed a few fish from outside. That'd do until he could hunt properly. He hadn't been able to for a while. The sailors were getting paranoid.  
  
He anchored the shirt under a rock, making a mental note to return it later. Then he left again, swimming down to his neighbor's cave.  
  
It was like he thought: empty. The local asshole must've attacked him again. He was probably the injured merman Blue's friend had found. Bim would have to go see him sometime.

For now though, he swam to the back of the cave and curled up on a soft bed of woven kelp.  
  
~  
  
The beach was now clean; the roof was temporarily fixed, and the replacement materials were ordered. It was about 4 AM.  
  
Blue updated the books and checked the tanks. They were mostly empty. Everything was either hiding, or had just left. A few fish swam by the glass. The tank itself seemed fine.  
  
The rest of the building was dark as he walked back. The power had gone out, unfortunately. Blue and his brothers couldn't charge until it came back, and they all really needed it. They were all going to stay in sleep mode to conserve power. Red and Green were staying in the main building, Oliver was staying in the sickbay with Dark and Wil, and Blue would stay by the Tunnel.  
  
The Tunnel was what it sounded like: a tunnel. It led from the tanks to the open ocean. Everything was allowed to come and go as it wanted. The entire place was basically a longterm experiment to see what kind of environment those conditions would make.  
  
So far, the answer was a boring one. They'd planted some structures and coral around, but hardly anything had moved in.  
  
He sat down next to the glass, leaning against the cold wall. Sleep took him within minutes.  
  
~  
  
_"Matthias! What the hell are you-!"_  
  
_He didn't respond, just pushed Bim away. Bim stumbled, trying to stay on the ledge._  
  
_"Matthias, wait, no, don't! You aren't like this, please!"_  
  
_A gunshot. Then Bim was falling. When he hit the water, he was dead._  
  
Bim woke with a start. His headache seemed to have gotten worse.  
  
God, he hated that memory.  
  
He shook his head, got up, and swam outside. It was still dark, nearly morning. Maybe he could hunt? Some idiot was bound to still be floating around. He'd just have to be careful.  
  
Unfortunately, he barely got out of the cave. Anti, the Local Asshole™, tackled him from out of nowhere.  
  
"Where is he!? You're his friend, you should know!"  
  
"Why the fuck would I tell you? Get off me!" Bim wiggled out of his grip.  
  
"Is he dead?"  
  
"He's getting some peace and quiet, now fuck off!" Bim swam off in a huff.  
  
Anti had an odd obsession with Bim's friend. For some reason, he always expressed it by chasing him every chance he got. It often ended in one or both of them getting hurt.  
  
He shook his head, then swam off to find a boat. It took a while, but he found one. The boat was stupid fancy, and the human was definitely drunk. He circled the boat for a bit, until the human was near the edge.  
  
Then he popped out of the water, and started to sing.  
  
~  
  
Blue woke to someone poking him.  
  
"Hey. Hey dude. Hey."  
  
"Fuck off Bing."  
  
"The power's back."  
  
"I wish it wasn't so I don't have to look at you."  
  
"You have night vision!"  
  
"I can turn it off."   
  
By his calculations, Blue and his brothers had been in sleep mode for about four hours. So much time wasted because of a stupid storm.

He hated it.  
  
"Oh! And I got some fresh fish for your merman friend. The stuff in your fridge smelled funny."

Bing followed him to the sickbay. There, Dark was curled up at the edge of the tank, near where Wilford was still asleep. He was gnawing on some big fish bones, quietly humming.  
  
Oliver walked in. "The new roof stuff's gonna be here in about a week."  
  
"Good. Did Wilford do anything while we were out?"  
  
"Nothing on the cameras."  
  
"When I got here, he kept muttering about a couple of people, Damien and Celine, I think? MerDude seemed worried about it," Bing said.  
  
"They were his friends from a long time ago. They fell into the ocean and never surfaced. He must've been dreaming about them," Oliver explained. "Dunno why Dark would be worried."  
  
"Did anyone enter the building, besides the obvious?"  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"No. Everything is perfectly fine."  
  
"Good." Blue walked over to Wilford, gently checking his bandages. They were fine for now, but he had a slight fever.  
  
Wilford cracked an eye open, looking up at Blue. "Hey."  
  
"Do you feel okay?"  
  
"Mostly. Head still hurts." He sat up and looked over at Dark. "Hey, Darky."  
  
Dark reached over and gently ran a hand through Wilford's hair, moving it out of his face. Wilford grinned.  
  
Dark looked much better. The infection seemed to be clearing up on its own. The stitches were set to be removed when they were done charging. In a couple more days, he would be able to leave.  
  
"Think you'll be okay with Bing while we go charge?" Oliver asked.  
  
"Yeah." Wilford wasn't really paying attention now.  
  
~  
  
Bim didn't have a use for bones, especially human ones. They didn't make very good knives, and the marrow inside tasted funny. He dropped them off under a bridge, far away from the beach. The water around there felt bad and _wrong_ , so he didn't take the time to hide them carefully. Humans liked to take care of their dead anyway. It'd be gone after they found it.  
  
On his way back, he found something odd. He hadn't been around this area for a while. The humans must've added it somewhat recently.

It was a tunnel. Most underwater human tunnels had bars over them to prevent anything big swimming in. This one was wide open.  
  
He poked his head in. It was mostly dark. A few artificial coral things were planted around, with some fish darting in and out. The water felt so clean, unlike all other human tunnels. It was weird.  
  
Of course, Bim swam in. It was too interesting not to. Stuff like this wasn't around every day.  
  
~  
  
_97%_  
 _98%_  
 _99%_  
 _100%_  
 _Core fully charged. Exiting sleep mode._  
  
Blue woke up, notifications beeping at him. The other's were already up, tidying the papers and checking data.   
  
Something bigger than a fish had swum into the tunnel. Bing had texted him about it.  
  
_Blue!! Something's in the tanks!!-BI_  
 _Me and Wilford are looking for it on the cameras, but there's nothing yet.-BI_  
 _I think its a merman? We saw it for like half a second and Dark seemed to recognize it, so maybe they're friends? Idk-BI_  
  
Was it Bim? It might be Bim. He said he was gonna visit. He must've found the tunnel.  
  
"Bing hasn't destroyed the place yet has he?"  
  
"Everything's fine, don't worry." Oliver handed Blue some data sheets. "We got some new activity in the lowest tanks. I think something made it's home down there."  
  
"The coral we planted is still looking good too," Green said.  
  
Blue nodded. "Good. This is good."  
  
"Red's organizing the clinic. He said he wanted to color code everything for easier access."  
  
Blue sighed. "He says that every few months and it never happens."  
  
"He actually went to the clinic this time!"  
  
"Does that mean anything?"  
  
"Yeah! He went in the room! He didn't even look at it last time."  
  
~  
  
This place was weird as hell. It appeared to be an aquarium, but usually, those didn't have a tunnel leading to the ocean so everything could come and go as it pleased. Usually, humans wanted to protect everything from sharks and stuff. Why was this one different?  
  
Eventually, Bim found a place to surface and look around. It was a big room, bigger than any cave he'd ever been in. A quiet hum seemed to be coming from everywhere, giving the place an odd ambiance.  
  
A few round pools were sitting in the room. Most were empty, though there was one in the middle with some water sloshing in it. A couple of humans were sitting next to it, chattering about something. They were just out of earshot, so he had no clue what they were on about.  
  
One of them turned his way. He quickly ducked back down, swimming back into the tunnel some. They'd probably seen him, so hiding properly was pointless.  
  
After a moment, their head dipped into the water, finding him. They looked a lot like Blue, except this guy had orange sunglasses and long hair. They waved, then popped back up.  
After a moment, Bim popped back up. None of the humans seemed to be freaking out, so it was probably safe. The orange glasses one was still by the water.  
  
"Hi, I'm Bing. What's your name?"  
  
"Bim."  
  
"Do you know a gray merman that doesn't talk?"  
  
"Yeah. Why?"  
  
"Okay, so, just so you know, he's here in that tank over there," Bing pointed, "and he's like, sick, so if you're here to take him home or something, you can't right now. He's getting better though."  
  
"Um, Okay then. I only came here because of the weird tunnel thing but that's good to know!" Bim looked over at the tank. Sure enough, he was there. He wasn't looking over at Bim, though. He was watching another human, with bright pink hair, gesturing wildly about something.  
  
"If you want, I could like, drag the tank over here so you guys can talk without you getting sick."  
  
"No, It's fine. We've got a telepathy thing, I just need to get his attention." _HEY!!_  
  
He perked up, looking around. **_Bim?_**  
  
_Over here!!_  
  
**_Where-oh!_** He turned, lifting out of the tank some to get a better look. **_How'd you get here?_**  
  
_There's a tunnel leading out through these tanks._  
  
_**Why?**_  
  
_I dunno. You alright?_  
  
**_Yeah, ish. I've been hacking up gross shit but it's slowing down. Also my tail got hurt, but that's doing better too. They wrapped it up in white stuff. It kinda itches._**  
  
_Those are bandages. They're protecting the wound so it can heal better._  
  
**_Oh. Okay._**  
  
The pink haired human stood up, walking over to Bim. Bing stopped him a little ways away from the water, making him sit there. "Are you Dark's friend?"  
  
"Yeah." You let him give you a name? Aww!  
  
...he was going to regardless of my input.  
  
You like him!  
  
"Do you know what might've attacked him and hurt his tail? Before he hopped onto my boat, something was chasing him."  
  
**_It was Anti again. The bastard doesn't know when to stop, does he?_**  
  
Bim nodded. "Yeah. There's another merman who's got a weird obsession with Dark, and he always expresses it violently. He doesn't like to listen to reason."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"We don't know."  
  
He sighed. "If there's anything I could do to help, please let me know. My name's Wilford, by the way."  
  
"I'm Bim."  
  
~  
  
Blue froze when he saw Bim, although his trance didn't last long due to Red running into his back.

"Could you not be lovestruck in my way please?"  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"No." Red nudged Blue out of the way and went to Dark's tank, gently checking the bandages. "Go talk to him, you idiot."  
  
He sighed and walked over. Wilford was already chattering with him, sitting a good distance away.  
  
"Hey Blue! Have you met Bim yet?"  
  
Blue sat down next to them. "Yes, he was on the beach earlier." Wilford's fever hadn't changed, thankfully. "Why don't you go with Dark? Red's going to go remove his stitches soon."  
  
"Okay!" Wilford popped up and ran over, stumbling a bit as he followed Red.  
  
Blue turned to Bim. "I wasn't really, uh, expecting you so soon."  
  
"It's your fault then for putting a cool tunnel right in my way! How was I _not_ supposed to go in it? What's it for anyway?"  
  
"It's...this place isn't really an aquarium in the normal sense. We built that tunnel to see what would wander in and make its home here, and what kind of ecosystem that would make."  
  
"Is that why there's fuck all here?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Well, I like it. It's nice and warm, and you put lots of cozy holes everywhere."  
  
"T-thank you." The weird feeling was back. _...fuck I do like him._  
  
"Oh! I almost forgot! I accidentally stole your shirt earlier."  
  
"Keep it. I, uh, I have like 50 others that are exactly like it."  
  
"Really? Thanks!" Bim smiled. His teeth were very sharp, a lot like a shark, but without the multiple rows. It made Blue's core whirr a bit faster.


	3. Chapter 3

**_Hey, Bim? Can we talk?_**  
  
_Yeah, what's up?_  
  
It was the middle of the night and everything was quiet. Dark was curled up in his tank, looking up at the ceiling. Bim was in the nearby open tank, idly watching the few fish swim by.  
  
**_I've been having...dreams lately, and...they feel real._**  
  
_Like a memory?_  
  
**_Yes, but more intense, and new._**  
  
_Do you think they're your memories from before? You're finally getting them?_  
  
**_They're from three different people though. A brother and sister, and a friend of the brother from his university. How can they all be me?_**  
  
_I dunno. The magic that makes us can be weird. Maybe you're special._  
  
_**The weirdest part is...Wilford is in the memories. He's a lot younger, and they call him William, but it's definitely him.**_  
  
_How? If he was from your time, he'd look a lot older, and would probably be in a retirement home._  
  
**_I know. It's weird._**  
  
_What are the brother and sister like?_  
  
_**The brother is called Damien. He was William's friend. He became mayor of the city, with the university friend as his DA.**_  
  
_And the sister?_  
  
_**She's Celine. I haven't had as many with her yet. She knew William, and she cared about him, and that's it.**_  
  
_Huh. When did these dreams start happening?_  
  
_**A while ago. They started feeling more intense after Wilford found me.**_  
  
_You didn't say anything?_  
  
**_I didn't want you to freak out about it._**  
  
_I'm not freaking out._  
  
**_Well, you're distracted by Blue now, so of course you're not. If I said this a month ago, you would be swimming around like a madman, making a big ruckus about it._**  
  
_....maybe so. But you're distracted too. I've seen how you look at Wilford._  
  
_**...that has nothing to do with this.**_  
  
_Oh really? I smell bullshit. You said they got more intense after you met him, and that he was in them. Maybe one of the siblings loooved him, and now it's rubbing off on you!_  
  
**_......shut up._**  
  
~  
  
Wilford bolted upright, backing away from the cot before he realized he was still at the aquarium. He wasn't surrounded by guns and mud and bloody bodies.  
  
He was still safe. Dark was looking at him, concerned.  
  
"I...I'm fine, Dark. It was just a nightmare." He moved back to the cot, leaning against the cool tank. He felt Dark put a hand against his head, gently stroking his hair. "Thanks."  
  
The door to the clinic opened, and Green was standing there, holding a big bucket of fresh fish. "Am I interrupting something?"  
  
"No. I just had a nightmare."  
  
"Okay." He walked over and put the bucket next to the tank, feeling Wilford's forehead. Dark grabbed a couple of fish and moved back in his tank. "Other than that, how're you feeling?"  
  
"Blech."  
  
"Any headaches or nausea?"  
  
"Not really. It's just the general feeling of tired."  
  
"That's better than you have the flu. You think you'll be okay tomorrow when we let Dark go?"  
  
"Yeah, I just...need sleep."  
  
"How about you take a shower? It'll make you feel better."  
  
"Mm'kay." Wilford got up and trundled off, going out to his houseboat that was docked in the building's private dock.  
  
He did feel better after the shower. And a sandwich. He had forgotten to eat for a few days. That happened sometimes. He'd get so excited about something and just forget everything else. He couldn't help it.  
  
~  
  
**_Do you think I could learn how to talk?_**  
  
_Maybe? You'll get your voice after your memories are all back, but if you wanna learn now, you probably could._  
  
_**Why didn't I think of this before?**_  
  
_I dunno. Maybe you didn't have a reason before._  
  
**_What?_**  
  
_You like him!! See! That's a reason!!_  
  
**_...Okay, but you don't need to yell about it._**  
  
Dark did like him, but he didn't quite know how to feel about it. It might just be something from the memories, not even from himself. He hoped it was himself. Maybe the hoping meant it was.  
  
Wilford walked in just then. His hair was damp and slightly poofy, and he was wearing different clothes. He looked better, more awake. Dark couldn't help but look at him. That had been happening a lot recently. He'd just start looking at Wilford and not stop. It was like he was in a trance.  
  
Also, he really wanted to hug him. Wilford just looked so huggable, especially now. It had something to do with the poof of his hair.  
  
Wilford sat on his cot, leaning against Dark's tank, eyes closed. He looked tired. Dark sighed and leaned against the same spot on his side.  
  
~  
  
_Her dreams always predicted the future. Most of the time it was small things, like what presents she'd get for her birthday, or what kinds of ice cream would be available at the shop._  
  
_This one was different. Bigger, and more important._  
  
_The four of them were older, all grown up. She was standing next to William, Mark was opposite them, and Damien was between them, trying to diffuse the situation. Mark was yelling at her and William, saying she betrayed him, and Will was a bastard._  
  
_Then she was yelling back, saying Mark never cared, only loved how she looked, William saw who she was. Mark and Will tried to attack each other, but Damien stopped them._  
  
_They stopped talking after that. William was sent to war soon after. Damien stayed home, because of his bad leg._  
  
_Then she was awake, home in her soft bed. No one was arguing. She sat up, wiping away the drool from her mouth. Damien liked to make fun of her for it, but it wasn't like she could close her mouth mid-sleep._  
  
_She wondered what it could mean, and what could have led up to it._  
  
_She would just have to wait, just like she had to wait for everything else._  
  
~  
  
Dark didn't really realize he was awake until someone started petting him. He hadn't even noticed falling asleep. When he sat up, Wilford stopped, looking away. "Sorry."  
  
**_It's fine._** Dark picked up his hand and put it against his head. **_It felt nice._**  
  
"Really? Are you sure?"  
  
Dark nodded. To prove it, he climbed out of the tank and into Wilford's lap. He hugged Wilford's chest and laid his head on it.  
  
After a moment, Wilford gently started petting him again.  
  
~  
  
It should be illegal for anything to be this fucking cute. Also, he was fucking _purring_. Since when do merpeople purr!?  
  
Wilford could feel his face turning red. His fever had kind of stopped at some point, and this felt different anyway. More fuzzy, less blech.  
  
Blue walked in just then, writing something on a clipboard.  
  
"Have you seen Bim? I wanted to ask him a few things."  
  
"I think he left to go fishing or something."  
  
"Okay. You feel any better?"  
  
Wilford looked at Dark, smiling. "Yeah."  
  
~  
  
There wasn't a lot of fish in the aquarium, unfortunately. Bim had to leave to find anything good. He didn't stay out for long. Dark was still inside, vulnerable. Bim trusted Blue and Wilford, but other, less friendly, humans could walk in at any moment.  
  
When he got back, Blue was just sitting at the bottom of the tunnel, poking at some plants. He didn't seem to be bothered by the whole no air thing, which was really fucking weird. When Blue saw him, he froze, then waved. Bim swam around him a few times, poking him.  
  
Blue pointed over to the nearest place they could surface. Bim nodded, immediately swimming over. Blue followed suit, taking a bit longer.  
  
"Okay, what the FUCK? How the hell did you do that?"  
  
"I'm not human, neither are my brothers."  
  
Bim rolled his eyes. "Oh, _really?_ "  
  
Blue climbed out of the water, sitting on the concrete floor. "We're androids."  
  
"Prove it."  
  
Blue sighed and pressed the side of his neck, where the big vein would be. His face split and lifted open revealing a face of metal and wires. His eyes stayed in the same place, making the whole thing 1000 times creepier. After a moment, it shut, and he was human looking again.  
  
"Please tell me you weren't built by the government."  
  
"No, we were made by Google. The government doesn't even know about us."  
  
Bim felt pure relief wash over him. "Oh thank fuck."  
  
"We were supposed to be research droids that could go places humans couldn't. We left because everything they wanted to research was pointless. If they wanted us to figure out ways to stop global warming, we probably would have stayed. Here, we do what we want." He looked at Bim. "You don't mind it, do you?"  
  
"No, I don't give a fuck if you're robots or not. If you were government robots, I'd be terrified."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Last I checked, the government was really shit, and really liked killing innocent people for no real reason."  
  
"Yeah. That hasn't gotten any better, unfortunately."  
  
Bim sighed, then hopped up next to Blue, laying back across his lap. "Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are?"  
  
Blue felt himself blush. "I...uh, a four-year-old said I looked like a princess once."  
  
Bim laughed. "Well, she was right!"


End file.
